Ken Page, Broadway Star, dies aged 70
Potentially best known for his classic role portraying Oogie Boogie, this spooky season won’t be the same without Ken Page. The actor passed away on 30 September peacefully in his sleep in his own home in St. Louis. He was inspired early in his life to pursue a career in acting by a teacher and the world is forever grateful that he did.
Ken Page made his Broadway debut early in his career starring as the original Lion in The Wiz in 1975. The following year he made history in the all-black revival of Guys and Dolls when he portrayed Nicely-Nicely Johnson. He continued his career on Broadway until the late 1990s when he moved back to his hometown of St. Louis to regularly perform at The Muny with his last production being this year in Les Miserables as The Bishop of Digne.
He regularly worked with large companies including the Walt Disney Company as he voiced several familiar roles such as the legendary Oogie Boogie. This was a role he reprised whenever the company asked him as he stated during multiple interviews how much he enjoyed voicing the character.
In an interview with Tim Lammers back in 2014 he said:
“At first, the filmmakers were looking for someone to just sing ‘Oogie Boogie’s Song,’ and they wanted something like a Cab Calloway-esque, Fats Waller-esque kind of vocalist. Somebody who could characterise the vocal. So my lawyer said to Danny Elfman, ‘I know the person for you – there’s nobody else that fits that description other than Ken Page. He’s done these things and embodied many critters.’”
You can read the full interview here.
During his time back in his home town at The Muny, he performed in shows every year, with the exception of the closures during the pandemic. Some of his most notable roles included Teen Angel in Grease (1999), Old Dueteronomy in Cats (2004), King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar (2005), King Triton in The Little Mermaid (2011), The Narrator in Into The Woods (2015), and most recently reprised his role as The Bishop of Digne in Les Miserables earlier this year. He also reprised his role of Oogie Boogie on stage twice (once in 2021 and again the following year) as The Nightmare Before Christmas was played live in concert at BMO Stadium and Wembley Arena.
Though he only won two awards during his fifty years long career, both were for his performances as an actor. In 1976 he won the Theatre World Award for Best Actor for his performance in Ain’t Misbehaven and only two years later won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in Guys and Dolls.
His death was confirmed by his long-tme friend and producer Dorrian Hannaway. This is not the first time the producer has announced the passing of her friends on social media. Similarly she announced Armelia McQueen, and Bob Esty. She announced the passing of Ken Page publicly on social media stating:
“Ken Page has passed onto the next show. My heart is broken.”
All photos edited by Drew Janine and provided by Getty Images.
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